The Week In Film

Congratulations to Don McAlpine, who has won the American Society of Cinematographers' International Achievement award, and to Richard Brennan, who was awarded the Australian Film Critics Circle award for outstanding achievement. Two much-loved filmmakers.

McAlpine's still going, and Richard Brennan has finally retired after making films as producer and director since his teens. Richard, I'm told by one of his friends, has kept a daily journal throughout his career—a treasure trove I should think for a film historian or publisher.

Happy birthday UA

Look out too for the 19th birthday on 23 Febuary of the company United Artists, founded in 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and DW Griffiths as an artists' collective. It has backed some fine films down the decades, though in recent years it became a shell, was onsold by MGM, and is now owned by Tom Cruise. It's re-issuing some of its best films on DVD to mark the occasion.